Columbus Chamber Blog: Information about economic development, economic and business trends, Columbus workforce, programs, events and the Chamber of Commerce in and around Columbus, OH

Robbie Banks Featured in this week's Right Now Downtown

Check out our own Robbie Banks in an interview on the Downtown Columbus site, here's an excerpt:

It’s impossible to avoid the YPs these days.  Senior citizens, adolescents: they can’t complete.  The YPs (that’s Young Professionals) are organized, coordinated, and they have plans for us, yes they do.

Sounds scary?  You bet it does.  But never fear, they like downtown and they like old people too.  In fact, lots of us are YPs, and don’t even know it.

The Columbus Chamber of Commerce defines YPs loosely as a “self-selected” group who feel like young professionals.  Based on its research, the Chamber says that they typical member is between the ages of 21 and 45.

Robbie Banks’ job at the Columbus Chamber of Commerce is to manage the young professionals group, and she’s got great aspirations for downtown’s YPs:

“I would like to see YPs exercise their Midwestern values by inviting your new-to-Columbus colleagues to lunch or coffee at one of their favorite local spots.  Shop and dine at the local businesses downtown, including the Pearl Market.  Take advantage of the activities such as the downtown kickball, bowling and corn hole leagues and the Downtown Live summer concert series.  Support the arts.  Visit the parks.  Bike, walk or ride COTA to and from work, or at a minimum, do not hop in your car to get places that you can easily bike, walk or ride COTA.”

Read the full post here.

Not connected yet? Shoot Robbie a note at robbie_banks@columbus.org.

What Young Professionals Want to See in Their City

Guest post by: Steven Michalovich, Columbus Downtown Development Corporation

As one of the largest college towns in the country, it is vital to retain this ongoing source of fresh talent hitting the job market and developing these individuals into our next community leaders and big thinkers.

But why would an young professional (YP) want to stay in Columbus?

Recently Columbus ranked tenth out of cities with a population over 500,000 in best places for young professionals to live and work. In doing so, Columbus beat out cities such as Charlotte, Chicago, Los Angeles, Nashville, and San Diego. These cities seem to be iconic destinations – so again, I have to ask, why would an YP want to stay in Columbus, Ohio?

Columbus appeals to the YP demographic for a variety of reasons. Many flourishing neighborhoods are scattered throughout the city limits, each with its own character and offering something uniquely different.

But having a price that meets what an YP can afford has become a priority in Columbus. Take downtown for example, where the market for urban dwellers historically has been only for the wealthy. This is no longer, as new residential projects are in the pipeline that will be targeted to YPs. For example, Lifestyle Communities is building a new neighborhood in downtown that will be affordable for the young and talented. This movement is crucial to keeping the next wave of up-and-comers in Columbus.

But it’s not just about where you live. YPs by nature like to live near where they work and play, so investing in the downtown is vital as well. New downtown amenities are in the pipeline, adding to this already vibrant core. Columbus Commons (pictured below) and Scioto Mile are two exciting green spaces reshaping downtown that will give the urban neighborhoods a place to escape and relax.

The Arena District is the premier entertainment district in Columbus flourishing 12 months a year, with the addition of Huntington Park (pictured below) joining Nationwide Arena, Lifestyles Pavilion and the adjacent bars and restaurants.

It’s hard to argue that there isn't always something to do in Columbus, as the calendar is filled with myriad events and festivals throughout the year all hosted within the center city.

Preserving the environment is also a priority in Columbus. Initiatives such as a Share the Road and Bike to Work Week are aimed at urging people to leave the car keys and ride a bike instead. More and more buildings in Columbus are being constructed utilizing sustainable methods, with the local hallmark being The Lazarus Building, which transformed from a department store into office space.

I think the biggest draw for young professionals is they see a city that is invested in the future success for the community. This involves preserving the environment, adding new amenities and most importantly, providing opportunities for young professionals today, so that Columbus can continue to strive and grow tomorrow.

In my opinion, there is no finer place than Columbus, Ohio to strive, learn, grow, live, play, speak up, and get connected as an young professional.

The Doctor is In: The Ohio Economy

While the Ohio economy has lost jobs at a higher rate than the U.S. as a whole, there are other states doing worse.  When the recession began in December 2007, Ohio was one of only four states with fewer jobs than in February 2001 – just before the beginning of the last recession.  In other words, our state was one of the few that never fully recovered from that downturn before this one hit.  However, there are now 23 states with fewer jobs than eight years ago.  Since December 2007, Ohio employment has fallen 4.8 percent, versus the 3.7 percent national loss.  But there are now eight states that have done worse.  Michigan is still on that list, with a job loss of 7.1 percent.  But at the very bottom of the list is Arizona, which has lost 7.7 percent of its pre-recession employment base.  Many of the other states are also not typically on a list like that: North and South Carolina, Oregon, Florida, Nevada.  That fact gives a clue to what is going on: the highest fliers during the boom are those suffering the most now.

But will Ohio sink to the bottom again once the economy recovers?  Possibly not.  Ohio employment growth started seriously lagging the national average only toward the end of the 1990s.  The primary reason for this was an extraordinary decline in manufacturing employment, which was a national phenomenon.  Ohio suffered more than average from this decline not so much because our losses have been proportionally greater than average (although they have been), but more because we had so much manufacturing employment to lose.  This employment decline was accompanied by a strong increase in manufacturing output, both nationally and in Ohio.  The net result has been that the typical manufacturing worker can produce one-third more output now than in 2001 – a staggering increase in productivity.  Thus, U.S. and Ohio manufacturing are much stronger than what the employment trends would suggest.  Also, because producers will be hard-pressed to coax this kind of productivity gain out of their plants during the coming recovery, we may have stable or even slightly growing manufacturing employment – thus, stronger employment growth for Ohio during the next decade than during the last one.  The real challenge is likely to be attracting people to the technical and skilled trades that manufacturing employers will need.

For more information, read about the Ohio Skills Bank a long-term initiative to align workforce with industry needs.

First Quarter Economic Update - Things Could Be Worse

The Columbus MSA continued its better-than-average employment performance during the first quarter.  Although preliminary March statistics show that the region lost 4,600 jobs during the first three months of 2009, the 0.5 percent loss was less than one-third the 1.6 percent U.S. decline.  Employment growth in most individual sectors was also stronger than average.  The worrisome decline in transportation – a crucial sector for us – paused, with a net gain of 500 jobs (1.0 percent) .  Most other individual sectors turned in better-than-average performance, including retail, financial activities, and professional and business services, each of which registered small net gains locally while continuing to decline nationally.  Since the beginning of the recession in December 2007, the Columbus MSA’s job loss has been 1.9 percent – little more than half the 3.7 percent national average. Read the full quarterly economic update here.